Breech Baby Turned with Webster Technique

by Birth Without Fear on April 17, 2013

With my first son I had extremely high blood pressure and had to be induced which ended up in an epidural and ventouse (vacuum) delivery with tubes coming out of everywhere. It was very medical and my son was taken to NICU immediately because of birth trauma. It was extremely difficult to be away from him for the first two days, it felt like forever and it felt like no one in the hospital trusted my husband and I with him. When we got pregnant with my second son, we wanted a less medicated birth with no interventions. We tried hard for this the first time but my baby’s and mine’s health was put at risk so it wasn’t so successful. We still used our hypno knowledge and this helped us to keep calm when things seemed out of our control.

I found out at 32 weeks that my baby was in a breech position and everyone seemed to be panicking about it except for me. So trying to avoid an ECV I tried many natural things but chiropractic, in particular the Webster technique seemed to work wonders, bub was head down by 36 weeks (which I know could have happened anyway). I will never be able to repay my chiropractor, I truly believe she helped me have an easier, faster labor. I ended up having my waters broken by choice and had the most amazing midwife to support me and my husband through the early part of the day. She truly went above and beyond. I credit her for me not having any other interventions. She let me walk around and be active rather than adhering to hospital policy of monitoring every 2 hours on the CTG. I was told by my OB that if no progress had been made after four hours that I would have to have the IV. Which I was dreading because I had this with my first. Four hours passed quickly (after an embarrassing water breaking episode in the hospital cafe bathroom) and my OB returned to see how I was going, contractions had really only started about ten minutes before she walked in but she was incredibly supportive which is so unusual for a doctor. Especially at a private hospital. She was happy to let me continue without the IV something which both myself and the midwife were stunned to hear!

I continued around the birth suite, using the shower and tens machine (not at the same time) as pain relief. It was working wonderfully. I had been in the shower for what felt like ten minutes but apparently it was over an hour. I felt like I needed to push, so I started pushing. The midwife checked and said she thought she could see something but wanted to get a better look. Seeing how I was getting out of the shower anyway, she asked if she could check me on the bed. Which I was happy to do at that stage. I was only 8 cm when she checked, but she called my OB. I couldn’t help the pushing, it just felt natural and so good to help with the pain!

When my OB arrived she checked me again (I managed to only get checked twice while in active labor – a huge difference to every hour or so with my first) and was concerned that bub was posterior and was pushing on my cervix in a way that may have torn it. She asked if I was ok to try the gas and I obliged as I wanted to avoid stitches. She got me on all fours for half an hour until she was confident bub had turned back to anterior. I didn’t stop pushing this whole time, but apparently my pushes were less intense, the gas was my best friend. To the point that when it was time to push for real, the midwife wanted to take it off me. But I wouldn’t let her, I was later informed they just turned it off. I now believe in mind over matter because whatever was in that mask was heaven!

I was so amazed to feel the pressure and the ring of fire this time around as I missed out with my first birth. After just three pushes, and with the incredible guidance from my amazing OB, baby London was handed to me between my legs. I just looked at him stunned that I had just delivered him in under 6 hours, a short labor compared to my first. I remember everyone telling me to pick him up but I just replied with someone take him because I can’t hold myself up anymore, I don’t want to fall on him!

I cannot tell you how in awe I was that I had just managed to have such a healing birth. It was everything I wished my first labor was, I am so honored to be the mother to two beautiful little boys.

Thank you to you Birth Without Fear and your community for providing such beautiful support to pregnant women and parents. It surely helped me with my decision making and gave me the confidence to have a birth photographer present. I would also like to thank Kacey from Jae Photography for doing such a brilliant job in capturing this amazing day for us, I will cherish these photographs forever.